This one is for Birdgirl

(This one is for you Birdgirl! [She has some terrific shots of Piebald deer] You seem to love the big bucks from Illinois, so here ya go! It's the biggest I've ever seen, although they are not the best photos of him, as he was quite a distance away.)

As usual, I was driving along...

...and as usual for this time of year, I am looking for big bucks...

...so I mosey on down the road, and find this one I've seen before...

...and that one I've seen before...

...and then all of a sudden, I see a truck stopped ahead, which usually means someone sees something...

...I get closer and see that it is my friend, but I don't want to interfere so I drive past...

...I saw that there were a handful of deer that she was videotaping...

...I spend some time at a parking lot trying to keep busy...

...I get bored and felt I had given her plenty of time, and drive back through...

...this time, I see a buck as I pass her by...

...I couldn't keep driving, I needed to have a second look...

...so I pulled over, giving my friend plenty of property to call her own, but enough for me to get some looks...

...all I can tell from this location was that this buck was a badass!



He was protecting his doe from another buck who was close by...




The doe stayed low for most of the time...






The massive buck tangled in the branches to leave his scent, which should deter other intrusive bucks...






I could not count the tines while shooting, but after closer inspection, I discovered he had 16--yes--16 points! He had 7--yes 7--brow tines! That is highly unusual! The spread of the rack is massive! My boss at work who is leaving for gunshot season which starts this friday morning was drunk with envy. I can only smile because this guy is on protected land.


(click to enlarge to count the points)